Yearly Archives: 2009

So check me out, it’s official… I’ll try not to get a big head, but I have been chosen as this month’s “featured photographer” by the Bokeh Pot website! You might be able to learn more about me reading my answers to those questions than you ever have reading my own blog! Click here to see my feature.

Branded is a collaboration of Government, Business, Church, and University leaders who have come together to eradicate sexual exploitation of children in Phoenix.

Attacking the Problem

Churches, law enforcement, government officials, market place leaders, non-profit organizations and passionate individuals have joined forces to fight against the sexual exploitation of children. They have come together to raise advocacy, develop preventative programs, and build a holistic secure community for rehabilitation of those coming out of the darkness of that world. The ultimate desire is to meet the physical, spiritual, and social needs of children affected by sex slavery, being committed to the rescue and renewal of the “one”.

Awareness

When people think of Human Trafficking or Sex Slavery most would consider it an issue elsewhere. Thailand… China… Eastern Europe… We need to let people know that it happens in Phoenix, and it happens frequently! The average age of entry into prostitution in the city of Phoenix is 13 years old. A 7th grade girl. In NO way is this acceptable. Therefore, one way that the public can act to prevent this issue from occuring is by raising awareness. Simply by getting the word out, educating others on the issue, and making potential-victims aware of these dangers, we will prevent girls from falling prey. If our city is to rid itself from this evil, the general public most be made aware of its existence.

Legislation

There is a great need to revise and submit key legislation that will protect girls that are victims, and prosecute those who gain from child rape for profit. Based on provisions and loop-holes in the current laws, Johns are able to walk away from their crimes with not much more than a small fine. This, while under-age girls are charged as criminals instead of treated as victims. The BRANDED movement is poised to confront our lawmakers about this injustice, and encourage them to make a change in the law.

Aftercare

As of now, the only option available options for a charged prostitute that is a minor, is to either be sent to a Juvenile Detention Center, be admitted into Child Protective Services, or return home. Victims of sexual abuse, and particularly sex trafficking, suffer from a variety of psychological, physical and social wounds that must be treated within a controlled and supportive setting. We see the need to provide an alternative to the punitive options currently available. One that openly accepts these girls as victims to be treated, and not criminals to be penalized. Please visit our partner organization - StreetLight – to embrace the vision of a village of hope.

One of the first things I noticed about Erin (other than those eyes!) was her sense of style… and there was no shortage of that style at this wedding! From her lacy vintage dress to her pink Barbie heels… she created a beautiful wedding that represented her perfectly. Alex wasn’t left out though… his style is soon to be showcased since he’s a graphic designer and he’s going to be designing their wedding album!

The wedding location itself was unique. It was held at the home of one of Alex’s clients and it couldn’t have been a better location for them. It was very elegant but it still had a personal home feel… the perfect combination!

And did we mention, he jumps higher than anyone we’ve ever met?! Just kidding, there was a trampoline built into the ground in the back yard… awesome for fun pictures. :-) We should’ve worked harder to convince the bride to try it out!

This is a shot I try to get at every wedding. I just love the flowing dress layers combined with some fab wedding shoes! So when I saw her shoes, I knew this wedding had to be the one where I perfected the look I was going for. And what do you know, it worked!

Erin was one of the smiliest brides we’ve ever had.Every time she tried to do a serious picture, she’d bust up laughing instead! So we figured the best way to get a serious one, would be with her head down. It did the trick and we now love this one… it’s such a classic pic. If it wasn’t for the strapless dress, it would be hard to guess what year it was taken and I love that! Vintage is definitely a favorite of both Scottie and I!

Another way to get a picture of Erin not laughing was to have her kiss Alex… apparently she takes her kissing seriously!

We loved working with this couple and we had a great time hanging out with them on one of the biggest days of their lives! Congratulations you guys!

After I married Scottie, there were a number of surprises that came my way. How differently we each viewed the phrase, “just a few more minutes”, how dishes tended to appear in the sink out of thin air, and how much it apparently matters if you place the bread in the wrong part of the shopping cart…. were all just a few of the things that continued to astound me! But one of the biggest surprises I had after marrying Scottie was when he said he wanted us to have a “goal setting retreat” during our first year of marriage. A what?

You have to understand, that up until that point, Scottie had been an excellent sport. I (Breanna) received my bachelor’s degree in Family and Human Development from ASU (yes, that’s an actual degree) and continued on to work on my master’s in professional counseling (umm…. still not finished with that one). Marriage and family were both of significant interest to me and something I spent years learning about…. all before I was actually married. So when I got married, needless to say, I was so excited to get to put into practice all I had learned! So Scottie sat through hour after hour of marriage classes, seminars, and of reading books on marriage to please his new bride! He did participate fully, but I’m sure it wasn’t his first choice on how to spend his Sunday afternoons (he missed many NASCAR races for me).

So when Scottie Chanson actually initiated a “Goal Setting Retreat” I was stunned. Way to go the extra mile, buddy! I was thrilled even though I still didn’t actually know what that meant.

So we went out to the middle of the desert in tents, to find out what that meant. I know “retreat” makes you think of hammocks or lakes or something else pleasant, but we were newly weds and we were dirt broke…. so in the middle of the dirt is exactly where we found ourselves on this lovely “retreat”.

It ended up being awesome. I knew I was married to a dreamer, and he knew he was married to a staunch realist, so this goal setting retreat really brought those two factors to light and helped us figure out how to mold his dreams into a shape that I could view as manageable (at least enough so that I didn’t have a massive aneurysm just thinking about all of it) so we could start making them into “our” dreams and begin accomplishing them.

(As a side note: I once interviewed about 200 people who had been or were currently married, and “having goals” came out as one of the top 5 things they thought were required for a successful marriage”. Hum along with me know….”The More You Know”).

OK, all that way long explanation to say that we just returned from our 2nd Goal Setting Retreat (4 years after the first one). This one found us, not in the desert, but rather, at someone else’s home where we dog-sat 2 crazy dogs. Again, “retreat” doesn’t necessarily make you think of getting up BEFORE 5am every day to walk 2 humongous creatures, but that’s where our “retreat” took place this time! Mostly because it was easier to take a few notes than to bring our entire computer set up so we could process pictures from that location.

This retreat took on a very different form than our last one and was a whole lot more work! This time we own our own business. Before we were like, “if you could have any job in the world, what would it be?” and this time we were like, “what are the quarterly numbers for our weenuses?” (That’s a “Friends” joke for all of you who feel left out right now). Way less exciting. But still very, very helpful and productive!

So now, all you Radiant Blog readers, can know that Scottie and Breanna are real grown-ups, with a real plan for their lives, and a real 5-year business plan! Well OK, so it’s a 5 year business plan draft…. well OK, so it’s just a bunch of scribbled notes. But we do have another goal setting retreat planned in about a month. Put on another pot of coffee, it’s gonna be a long one!

Here are pics of our 2 ” business associates” we had at this meeting.

I didn’t mention, that this was where we had some of our meetings (you gotta do what you gotta do when the temperature gets over 100 degrees!)

Seeing how we loved working with Chandler’s brother a while back, we were very happy to hear that this wonderful family had another son who needed his youth forever frozen in time! We love this family as a whole. They are great people to work with and we were so happy to have them as returning clients!

We went down to McDowell Mountain Ranch Park in Scottsdale, AZ with Chandler, his mom, and his guitar. His mom told us if we wanted to capture the real him, the guitar needed to be integral part of the photos. And man, were we glad it was! We LOVE working with props… especially the kind that help bring out who the person really is. It’s all too easy for us to get in a rut and have “pose block” where we can’t for the life of us think of a new pose that hasn’t been used over and over again. The guitar helped a ton with that! It helped break us out of our mold and see things fresh again. It also helped to have a guy for a senior session, it’s been awhile!

We are so happy with how the pictures from this senior photo session turned out and we’re ready to take pictures of their next kid when the time comes!